A general view of attendance as Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles waits for a play against the Toronto Blue Jays during the third inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 11, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

MLB, We Have an Attendance Problem

Ballparks across the country have welcomed about 2,700 fewer fans per game this April.

8 months ago

On April 29, 2015, Camden Yards set an attendance record mark that will never be broken: 0.

That of course, was because no fans were allowed into the park to watch the Orioles take on the Chicago White Sox due to rioting and unrest in Baltimore after the Freddie Gray incident.

Last week, Camden Yards set a record for the lowest attendance for a game in which fans were allowed into the ballpark when 7,915 fans came to see the Orioles play the Toronto Blue Jays.

Unfortunately for Major League Baseball, attendance is not just a problem in Baltimore as ballparks across the country have been much emptier than usual this April and welcomed about 2,700 fewer fans per game on average.

If that trend holds for the season, it’d mean an attendance drop of more than 6.5 million fans in 2018.

Whether it’s due to poor weather, tanking teams or fans watching other things, MLB appears to have a problem this April – and it’ll be a couple months until we know if it’s an anomaly or not.